Family Group Conferencing brings family members, close friends and service providers together to share information and to develop a plan. These partners build on each family’s strengths in order to create a safe and permanent environment for children to live.
Family Group Conferencing understands that the most effective plans for protecting children develop from the community and culture in which the family lives. In cases where children have been removed from the home because of allegations of abuse or neglect, participants discuss the children’s placement and safety. Participants may also talk about treatment options, family support systems, and long-term planning.
Concord Mediation Center typically receives referrals for Family Group Conferences from Nebraska Families Collaborative, which provides foster care services in Douglas and Sarpy Counties. Concord Mediation Center also accepts referrals from the Department of Health and Human Services. Families interested in Family Group Conferencing may also contact Concord Mediation Center about this service.
Generations Around the Table gathers relatives, friends and professionals to talk about a transition within the family. Concord Mediation Center facilitates family meetings where all persons are heard as they develop a realistic plan to solve one or more challenges. Generations Around the Table helps families to navigate the many stages of life with dignity, grace and wisdom.
Generations Around the Table recognizes that stress may arise during the significant changes in care and support. Concord Mediation Center facilitators work with families to resolve issues related to:
For families with aging parents, Generations Around the Table provides a unique opportunity to discuss deviations from the norm. For instance, families may participate in a Generations Around the Table meeting to discuss a grandparent’s role as primary caregiver for grandchildren whose parents are not present. Families may also meet to discuss how an aging parent’s re-marriage impacts family members including adult children.
Family Meetings facilitated by Concord Mediation Center address a wide range of transitions within families. For example, facilitators may assist families as they establish long-term plans for a child or parent with special needs. Family meetings focus on how an adoption affects the family or what to expect when a marriage blends two families. Families may utilize family meetings to discuss a young adult’s transition to or from living at home. Family meetings also address issues such as homelessness and prison re-entry.
Concord Mediation Center facilitates Permanency Pre-Hearing Conferences (PPHC) that focus on critical questions about permanency for children in the foster care system. Parents, older children and youth, caseworkers, attorneys, foster parents and family support workers attend. The PPHC provides the opportunity to discuss what permanency plans will be proposed to the Court and what steps are needed to accomplish those plans. With information shared at the PPHC or gathered following that meeting, the Court receives sufficient details to make a permanency decision in the child’s best interests.
Concord Mediation Center facilitates Pre-Hearing Termination of Parental Rights Conferences (PHTPR). These structured discussions focus on critical questions to be answered at an upcoming termination of parental rights hearing. Parents; older children and youth; attorneys; caseworkers; and foster parents may attend. The PHTPR Conference focuses on the need for permanency in the best interests of each child.
In addition, Concord Mediation Center works in conjunction with Douglas County Juvenile Courts to provide Protective Custody Hearings or Pre-hearing Conferences. These conferences take place in the court room with parents, their representatives, and important community partners at the parents’ first court appearance following the removal of their children from their home.